Armenia Pashinyan Prime Minister proposes to expose himself to the escalating church order

Bitter opposition between Prime Minister Nicole Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church saw mass arrests, accusations of plotting a coup and an unusual proposal by Armenia’s leader to disclose his private parts to prove that he was a Christian.

Earlier this week, Pashinyan told his 1.1 million followers on Facebook that he was ready to expose himself to the head of the Armenian Church and his spokesman to prove that they were wrong that he was circumcised.

Social media became his preferred means of communication after he came to his post after the so -called velvet revolution of Armenia from 2018.

Pashinyan is confronted with basic elections next year and the church has become a prominent anti -government voice, as Armenia was defeated in war in 2020 with neighboring Azerbaijan.

His exceptional proposal last Monday followed a publication on Facebook by a priest in the southwestern city of Massey, who claims that Pashinyan was circumcised, comparing him to Judas and suggesting that he was not a Christian.

“I believe that our apostolic world church must be cleaned immediately,” said Father Ashurian, “to those false” believers “who have betrayed the nation, discouraged the memory of their ancestors, violates the baptism and replaces the seal of the Holy Cross with the sign of circumcision.”

The confrontation between the church and the state began at the end of May, when the Prime Minister accused the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholic Karekin II, in breaching his vow of celibacy and father of a child, requiring the replacement of the church leader.

The church released a statement accusing Pashinyan of undermining Armenia’s “spiritual unity”, but did not turn to the claim for the child.

Subsequently, the government-related media released photos and names of Karekin II’s alleged daughter, while Pashinyan created a “coordination group” to organize the choice of a new church leader, despite the constitutional regulations that guarantee the division of the church and the state.

When Karekin II returned from a trip to the UAE last week, hundreds of supporters gathered at Yerevan Airport chanting Vehapar (Pontiff).

He called for unity and restraint, saying that they would “overcome this difficulty” together.

The crisis was then escalated on Wednesday when the security services detained 16 people, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a senior clergyman who was moving the movement of the opposition holy struggle. They face allegations of reference to terrorist acts for seizing power.

Other detainees are a member of the opposition, a former MP, businessman and blogger.

The Armenian investigative committee claims that the group has planned to create 250 “attacks” of 25 members, each of which attacks and causing mass disturbances, and that “large quantities of objects and objects intended for criminal activity” were found during the searches.

The archbishop led major anti -government protests last year and now the court ruled that he had to spend two months in pre -trial detention. He faces accusations of terrorism planning and an attempt to overthrow the state.

His lawyers have dismissed the allegations as “political persecution”.

The arrests followed the publication of what the media reported was a detailed opposition coup that was said to have been included in the church, recently detained Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian and two former Presidents-Robert Kocharian and Serze Sargsian.

Nicole Pashinyan shared the installation of the photos of the four men and said the event would remain a story as a “unsuccessful revolution of crooks”.

Samvel Karapetian, who owns double Russian and Armenian citizenship, is one of the most rich men in Armenia, with approximately a wealth of $ 4 billion ($ 2.9 billion).

He owns the Tashir group known throughout Russia for his pizza brand. It is a conglomerate that drives real estate, as well as Armenia’s electrical networks, a major energy distributor in the country.

Karapetian, one of the most famous benefactors of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the recipient of the High Church awards, was arrested after making a public video, promising his support for the church.

“I have always stood with the Armenian Church and the Armenian people. If politicians fail, we will intervene in our own way in this campaign against the church,” he warned.

Hours after the statement, law enforcement officers spent searches at the Karapetian estate, he was arrested and later charged with publicly summoning to the seizure of power.

He denied all the accusations against him.

Pashinyan’s spokesman suggested that the billionaire decided to use a “classic leadership received from the north” – a clear reference to Russia.

Later, the Prime Minister announced his intention to nationalize Armenia’s electric networks (ENA) by Karapetian (ENA) and he told a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the government would begin to control.

“We have to do this quickly and effectively,” Pashinyan said.

After the giant billboards of Karapetian with his photos appeared in Moscow – and the Armenian diaspora of Russia expressed support for the billionaire.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow “carefully monitors” the situation around “Russian national Samvel Karapetian” promises to provide him with the necessary assistance to ensure that his legal rights have been respected.